


Jason Todd and how he became a vigilante babysitter (how is this his life)

by eatmysandwiches



Series: The trials and tribulations of J. Todd: Vigilante Babysitter [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Family, Family Feels, Found Family, Gen, Jason Todd emotionally adopts Peter Parker, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Jason Todd, Training, custody battle of 1 spider-boi, the other avengers are there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24520774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eatmysandwiches/pseuds/eatmysandwiches
Summary: Jason Todd, sick of the vigilante (and villain?) life moves to New York City to live a perfectly normal life. And he’s rocking it.But then, vigilante Spider-Man shows up and messes it all up. Jason finds himself training the clearly still a teenager hero; c’mon, the guy didn’t even throw a punch right! And stumbles into the lives of Peter and May Parker. Is this what family is supposed to be like?Basically, Jason stumbles upon Spider-Man, adopts him and they become a family.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Jason Todd, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: The trials and tribulations of J. Todd: Vigilante Babysitter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027471
Comments: 78
Kudos: 412





	1. The Spider-kid

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this idea came to me in the darkest of hours  
> It’s my first work, and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Set about 8 months before Civil War

Being almost murdered by your father figure after coming back from the dead intent of getting revenge and attempting to murder same father figure really gives a guy a different perspective on life. 

Since revenge clearly wasn't working out for him, Jason did some thinking. It wasn't like he had a lot else to do after being beaten to hell, having his neck slit open, being blown up and nearly drowning in Gotham harbour. Honestly the being blown up is probably what saved his life, with all the fire cauterising his cut throat and preventing him from bleeding out.

He eventually came to the conclusion of needing a new job. This one fucking sucked.  
A week later he crawled out of his shithole safe house, gathered up his stuff, and cut Gotham loose.   
For months he drifted, a single lost person among thousands. He took odd jobs, pretending to be normal, and took too many other jobs, ones where people got hurt, where he hurt people even.

Eventually Jason mades it to New York, the big apple. A world away from Batman and any of the Justice League's bull shit.   
He settled down in Queens, using what remained of his drug money to obtain all the documents of his new identity, and buy a nice normal apartment. He was going straight. He would be normal.

Finding a job was next on Jason’s list. Lucky for him, an Italian restaurant on his block has a paper sign on the window; ‘Help Wanted’. He gets a spot cleaning dishes, clearing tables and delivering the food when required. It wasn’t full time, but hours were stable, and he was making enough to survive. He enjoyed the people he works with as well, they banter, and they are especially joyful when they find out he speaks Italian. It’s busy, crowded, but warm, he’s content.

Over the next months, he settles into a routine. He goes to work, shops and cooks for himself, exercises, even goes to a bar with some of the guys from work, or to the cinema. He likes being normal. He reads more, something he never had much time for, visiting the library and even getting a job reshelving books. He decides he wants to study, and gets another job working security, it has better hours and pays more, which means he can afford an online semester next year. He goes to the local bars, part of a community, bartending becomes another job when he is short of cash. He's making more friends, and dating occasionally. He is busy, often tired from work, stressed with college deadlines, and bills seemingly coming out of nowhere, but he is also happy. 

During his fourth year of living in New York, Jason begins to hear rumours. A new vigilante has been sighted. Spiderling or something. He swings from the buildings. New York isn't short of vigilantes, but they keep to themselves, and the alien invasion was 7 years ago, with nothing strange happening since, so Jason isn't worried, it isn't his life anymore.

He honestly forgot the rumors until the day he actually saw the spiderling swinging between buildings while Jason was riding his bike delivering a meal. The web-slinger has a small, slight body, perhaps a particularly small adult, or more likely a teenager. They were clearly very strong from the way his body flicked itself in the swing, but untrained, limbs flopping about off balance, likely to cause a bad landing or pull a muscle, nowhere near Dicks free yet incredibly controlled gravity defying movements. It was only Jason’s past experiences and training in Gotham that allowed him to recognise these details. The spider swung out of view, and Jason continued to his destination, meals needed to be delivered.

The second time he saw the spider boy was when he was walking home from the library. Jason was working on an assignment or one of his classes that was due that day, he had been flat out studying and writing up everything. Thankfully have had submitted it, Jason was wearily walking home, hearing a commotion down a side alley. Ever curious, even in exhaustion, he looked to see the red and blue clad vigilante facing off against a man in dark clothes. The spider boy punched out, clipping the face of his opponent, sending him crashing to the ground, presumably knocked out.

“And that’s why you don’t steal from old ladies!” The youthful voice chanted, shaking his fist and leaning over to pick up a purse from the ground.  
Now, Jason was an asshole. It was widely known, and his ability to say dumb shit surprised even him at times.   
“That’s not how to punch!” Jason yelled.  
The kid, and it was a kid, startled. Immediately standing straight, spinning around to face Jason, surprised.  
“Uhhhh, yes it is. Goodbye” the kid spluttered, shooting a web from his wrist and swooping away.  
Jason shrugged to himself, turning from the alley to walk home, his people skills weren’t always the best.

From then on, Jason saw kid-spider, or Spider-Man as he was calling himself, more often. When he was walking home after work, he saw Spider-Man perched on buildings, doing his shopping; Spider-Man was swinging down the sidewalk. Occasionally when it was more quiet, Jason called out ‘advice’. Yes, it made him an asshole (even more so), but he really tried to make his comments helpful.

The next notable interaction with Spider-Man was different from the previous. For one, Jason hadn’t seen or called out at him. In Actuality Jason was a little busy.  
He had been sent by the security firm he worked for to the warehouse district to check upon one building, the owners were out of town and concerned for… well, he didn’t know why, all he had to do was check the perimeter for disturbances, and ensure that all security devices were still intact and functioning. When he arrived he found a black van parked out front. The electric fence was desabled and security cameras destroyed. He circled behind the warehouse to the back entry, where he happened upon 5 men stumbling out of the door carrying boxes, clearly startled by his presence.

Look, Jason knows he could have handled them easily, but his day had been boring, and he was looking for a little excitement. When the men dropped the boxes, and drew guns in shaky hands, he feigned fear, allowing himself to be captured. He really could use some more details to tell his boss, and in his experience, when someone was waving a gun at someone else, they usually talked pretty freely. So he let them wave their guns and panic while he sat tight.

Unfortunately, he really didn’t expect Queens local vigilante to appear. He swung in, landing on the edge of the neighbouring building.  
“5 against one, that doesn’t seem very fair.” He quipped, webbing one of the goons to the wall before swinging into the fray.  
It took everything Jason had to refrain from sarcastically commenting yeah, alert the bad guys that you’ve arrived, totally, surprise attacks never work, sure.  
Once on the ground, Jason saw that Spider-Man became outclassed fairly easily. The goons, beings kind of competent, immediately began shooting at Spider-Man, gaining distance on him, putting him at a disadvantage. Once close, his webs became harder to use, and 2 of the goons were able to jump him, and despite having enhanced strength, Spider-Man was no trained fighter.

After one particularly cruel blow, a punch that landed on Spider-Man's neck, causing a pained shout, Jason finally decided he had had enough. He easily broke through the duct tape that had been bound around his wrists, and launched himself at the nearest goon. The fight came to a quick end after that, with Jason aiming swift kicks and punches, incapacitating his opponents.  
“You really need to learn how to throw a punch kid.” He stated, offering a hand to the small huddled form on the ground.  
Spider-Man ignored his hand, slowly coming to a stand, as if assessing if Jason was an ally, or opponent.  
“Can you teach me?” The kid asked, deciding on an ally.  
Jason scoffed and walked away.  
“No fucking way!” He called over his shoulder. He had a boss to call, police too, and probably so much paperwork.

Jason had been Robin for many years, he knew when somebody was following him. Spider-Man could have at least been subtle at it, seriously, the first time after the incident when Jason had been spotted, the vigilante started calling out and chasing after him. Jason thought it was far too easy to ditch him. But it kept happening, he could admit the spider kid was persistent, despite being unsuccessful. 

Jason couldn’t help but take pity on the guy. So a week later he set himself up on his buildings rooftop, out of sight of surrounding apartments, but easy enough to find if you were a web-slinging, wall-climbing vigilante, and pulled out a cigarette, and candy crush on his phone.  
20 minutes in he heard the familiar thud of feet landing. Jason pocketed hi phone, stomped out his cigarette butt and turned to face the newcomer.  
Spider-Man stood on the edge of the building, shoulders hunched, as if making himself appear smaller, his feet shuffled nervously, unable to decide to escape or approach, and his hands were twisted in his baggy suit, fiddling.  
“You really need to work on how to track people down, kid.” Honestly, Jason surprised himself with his asshole comments sometimes. Fortunately (or unfortunately) they didn’t deter the kid, who while hunched smaller for a second, eventually took a half step closer.  
“Yeah, I need to work on many things… I’ve heard you call stuff out before but I didn’t listen, and then that night you were all like pow, and woah” with that, the kid mimed a punch and a flying kick. “And it was crazy awesome and I kinda though that you could perhaps please teach me please?”   
Jason scratched the stubble on his chin thoughtfully before inclining his head for the kid to follow as he turned away.   
Jason counted three steps, making sure he could hear Spider-Man following, before he launched his attack.  
He sprang back into a backwards handstand, springing into a kick last second. His foot gently brushed the kids chest, but didn’t make full impact as he had jumped back to avoid the blow. Jason righted himself, He also noticed Spider-Man had set himself into a defensive position in case Jason was going to continue his attack.  
“What was that for man?!”   
“Not bad, but not good.” Jason turned and walked away. The kid still followed.  
“So you attack me out of nowhere and leave?!?” Spider-Man shrieked.  
“Your reaction time was alright, most people would have ended up with a broken rib, but you need to be on guard and ready to move at a moment's notice, and your defensive stance is off balance and sloppy.”  
“What is this? Are you training me?”  
Jason glared.  
“Oh my god! You’re totally training me!”  
Jason’s continued to walk.  
“Wait, Mister, if you’re training me, where are you going?”  
“I, like most adults, have a job, so i need to work now. I’ll be here again tomorrow at 5pm. And you should probably call me Jason if you’re gonna keep bugging me.”  
Jason was through the door that leads to the stairwell before he heard the response. 

Training spiderman was an … experience. The kid had so much energy, constantly talking, constantly moving, a real Dick Grayson on steroids. Spider-Man was strong and fast, flexible, and had an underlying intelligence that had potential. He was also so unsure of himself, all his movements undisciplined.

They met infrequently, sometimes twice a week, other times every second week, rotating the days, the times and the locations, Jason mindful of becoming predictable or a target. His concern only grew as he witnessed the carefree nature of Spider-Man.

They began with basic things, on how to actually throw a punch, mindful of the super strength, where to punch, how to block, kick and incapacitate an opponent. Jason recommended classes and videos on self defence, as well as things such as gymnastics and acrobatics.  
He also told him about protecting his identity, strategies in battle, and for patrolling the city, and investigating.  
Eventually, Jason gave Spider-Man his number, after making him promise to never give it to anyone, and only use it in emergencies.

For almost 3 months they had been meeting up, sometimes they spared, or Spider-Man would ask him other questions. It was an unusual relationship, but one that Jason was grateful for. Who knew that training the local teenage vigilante would allow Jason to contemplate his past is a non-murderous way and begin to heal from so much trauma. Life was good.


	2. Peter Parker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason uncovers who Spider-Man in under the mask.
> 
> Peter and Jason bond and get to know each other, some secrets are revealed

Jason had known May Parker for just over a year before he met her nephew Peter Parker.<  
He had known her face, as she was a regular at the Italian restaurant where he worked, either coming in, or ordering take out. Because of that, he didn't hesitate to step in when he noticed her and some of her friends being hassled. Stepping into situations was second nature to him, since even his childhood in The Bowery and Crime Alley. They began talking as the group walked together to another bar. He had seen May around more after that. It seemed they frequented the same bars, and thus began their friendship.

Now, he could safely say that May Parker was one of his best friends. She felt comfortable talking about any troubles with Peter, and he mostly complained about work or school. She didn't ask about his past, and he was glad.  
They did weekly or second weekly dinners, it was their way of catching up. Either going out to eat, or Jason cooked. Occasionally they even went to May's, and she cooked under Jason's watchful eye, it was nice having someone who he considered family again.

He had never met her nephew, and when May announced one evening during their hang-outs that Peter would be home early enough for dinner with them, Jason was excited. He had heard many things about Peter, and was looking forward to meeting the family of one of the most important people in his life.

When Peter walked through the door, wearing a baggy sweatshirt and rumpled Jeans, he was exactly what Jason was expecting. The teenager slung his backpack onto the couch, allowing himself to be pulled into his aunt's arms for a brisk kiss on the cheek. What he was not expecting was the way Peter startled when he caught sight of Jason.

“This is Jason, I’ve told you about him, remember Peter?” May prompted.

“Ahhhh, yes. Nice to meet you Jason.” Peter mumbled. “May, can I go to my room? I’ve got some homework to do before dinner.” He directed towards May.

“Sure” she replied, frowning. She turned to Jason when Peter had closed the door to his room. “Sorry about that, he’s a pretty shy kid”

“Don’t worry, he probably just wasn’t expecting me” Jason reassured, gesturing to his face. He wasn’t horrifyingly ugly, but he stood out, with the white steak in his hair, large build, crooked nose, scarred lip, and the faded J that remained on his cheek, just below his eye. May laughed.

When everything was cooked, Peter shuffled out of his room to sit with the Adults at the table. His posture was stiff, and Jason could tell he was concerned about him, with the way his eyes drifted between his plate and Jason. He hoped the kid would warm up to him a little eventually, he’d hate to lose May.

He was careful with the conversation, keeping his body open, sticking to safe topics, and leaving openings for Peter. Eventually, a story about trying to catch a stray cat that had taken refuge in the library got Peter to laugh, and everything flowed from then on.  
As Peter shared some stories from school, Jason felt the familiarity of the carefree ramble, the elated tone and the animated gestures. He had seen it many times before on a rooftop or abandoned building with Spider-Man.

Was it freaky discovering that his best friend's sweet and nerdy 14 year old nephew was secretly a web-slinging vigilante? Yes. Was it freaky that the vigilante kid you had taken under your wing and began mentoring was actually your best friend's nephew! YES. Jason was very freaked out, the kid had gotten hurt so many times … he could have died so many times.  
Jason had probably never been so freaked out before in his entire life (yes, which includes having Batman catch him stealing the wheels off the bat mobile, and actually dying and coming back to life.)  
However, Jason did not look freaked out, he had a bomb-arse poker face and was an amazing actor thank-you-very-much.  
So Jason continued eating dinner with May Parker, and her nephew Spider-m… Peter Parker. He even managed to finish dessert before politely excusing himself and running the hell away.

That night, Jason walked onto his roof. Spider-Man was waiting for him, sitting on the ledge.  
“I didn’t mean to find out your identity.”

“I know. It’s all so stupid, but I have to do this, I can help people.”

“I know.”

“But May would freak out if she knew, and I can’t hurt her.”

“I know Peter. I won’t let either of you get hurt.” He reached over to rest a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter leaned into the familiarity of it. But the worry was visible on his maskless face.

“I’m going to do all I can to teach you how to protect yourself and those you care about. I haven’t known you long kid, but I care about you.”

Jason knowing Spiderman's identity didn't change much; Jason still worked, and Peter still went to school, they caught up during the week and they trained, and Peter went on Patrol,and Jason still worried, but now Spiderman had a face to worry about. And instead of parting ways after training, they would also see each other at May's apartment. Jason came to May's more now, getting to know Peter as Peter. Sometimes Jason cooked, or they ordered takeout to eat on the couch, watching repeats of sitcoms, or playing games on Peter's old ps2 (and eventually the new Nintendo switch that Jason claimed to never use at his apartment.) Jason was happy with his life, and the new little family he had found.

It was one evening that May called Jason in a state of total panic that it started to change.  
May was near inconsolable on the phone.  
“May, calm down, I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Jenny and Florence both went home sick, and the ward is already short staffed and I’ve got to do the double tonight but I promised Peter I’d pick him up after decathlon practice tonight because he was finishing late and it’s raining and there’s nothing at home for him to eat, he doesn’t even have money for the bus! What am I going to do?”

“May, chill!”

“But Peter-“ May continued.

“I’ll pick him up, don’t worry.” Jason interrupted her.

“Oh, will you?”

“Yes, text me what time he finishes and I’ll be waiting for him.”

“You’re a lifesaver Jason.” The relief in her voice was evident.

“I’ll see you tonight May, have a good shift, bye.”

“See you later.”

That’s how Jason found himself sitting in his car out the front of Midtown high.

Peter had gotten a text from Jason, saying he was picking him up. He had gotten closer to Jason over the last few weeks after his identity had been uncovered, it was just really nice having someone who he could talk to about both sides of his life; Peter Parker, and Spderman.

Ned was by his side as they stepped through the doors of the school  
“Oh, there’s my mum, I’ll see you later Peter.”

“By Ned.”

“I don’t see May, did you need a lift?”

“Nah, Mays friend Jason is picking me up.”

“Cool.”  
“Yeah, he’s over there.” Peter pointed to the shiny looking blue mustang. He didn’t know how Jason owned a car like that, he usually drove a motorbike. It was a very nice car, and Peter felt cool pulling open the door

“I’ve ordered from the new Italian place, we’ll go pick it up now.” Jason started as Peter opened the door.

“I hope you got garlic bread”

“Of course! I also got the new Mario kart game.”

“Oh, so you want to get destroyed”

“As if, kid. You’re going down!” Jason laughed, Peter joined in, a smile on his face. Hanging out with Jason was way cooler than any car.

The anniversary of the deaths of Richard and Mary Parker was always a difficult time for Peter and May. Although Peter didn’t particularly remember his parents, the day always got to him, thinking of what might have been if things were different. After visiting the cemetery, he and May spent the morning together snuggled on the couch under a pile of blankets, laughing and crying over stories and pictures they could share as they did every year. He was forever grateful that he had May. Peter might have lost his mum and dad, but May had also lost them; her brother and sister-in-law. And they still had each other.

May had to work in the afternoon on this particular day, so she had asked Jason to come over and keep Peter company. She found it funny to see how her nephew and her best friend had taken each other, but she was also glad that Peter had someone else there for him. And it was also hilarious to see the massive Jason seated next to the much smaller Peter on the couch playing video games, and when she beats them both at said games. Jason really felt like another member of their family.

“Do you have Parents?” A small voice asked. It was the only words Peter had spoken in many hours, hidden under a mound of blankets. Jason had been keeping him company, just sitting there as they watched old movies, providing water and food when required.

“Yeah, I guess, everyone has parents kid.” He responded, trying to keep his voice soft.

“But what happened to them? We’re the only family you have here.” That small voice persisted, and Jason knew what he was asking.

“I guess I’ve had a few parents actually. My mom's name was Catherine Todd, and my Dad was Willis Todd. They shouldn’t have had a kid. I grew up in Gotham, it was pretty rough. Willis was a gang member, pretty violent, he died in prison when I was about 11. Mum, well… Willis wasn’t good to her, and she had a lot of issues, most of which she tried to solve by shooting up whatever she could get her hands on, she OD’d when I was 10. Lived on the street and in and out of group homes until I was 12. I was adopted by Bruce, he was well off and I had everything I could have dreamed of. I wanted to be his son, but honestly, I don’t know what I was to him. We fought a lot, still probably would if he knew I was alive. I ran away from Bruce when I was 15, discovered my bio mom was actually a woman called Sheila Haywood. I guess I was desperate or something, just wanted to believe I could have something good, but she sold me out to the Joker. Been messed up ever since. No more parents for me.”

“Oh.”

“You’re lucky you have May kiddo, she’d do anything for you, and I’d be right there helping her.”

“Yeah. She’s the best. Do you think she’ll be okay with who I am? Do you think they would be?”

“I haven’t known you for as long as May has, but I know she’d be proud of you for standing up for what is right and doing what you can… once she gets over all her worry anyway.” Peter let out a small chuckle as he said that. “And your parent’s, from what I’ve heard, they are great people who’d be so proud of you Peter.”

Peter gave a small smile to Jason, he threw his arm across Peter's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace of sorts. He knew he was proud of Peter, and he knew he’d do anything to keep Peter smiling.

Christmas could be a hard time of year for anyone. It was a holiday that Jason had spend alone for many years, and even before that it was mostly beholden to unhappy memories. However; Christmas had a spirit about it, almost magical. He remembered one year in his childhood, his mum had been clean, and Willis’s pockets full, and they had spent the day together being merry, stuffing themselves with food they could afford and watching the Christmas specials on a television they had been able to pay to run.  
Another good Christmas had been when he was 14. Christmas at Wayne Manor was completely different to Christmas in the Bowery, with it’s decorated eves, and the scent of Alfreds baking flooding the halls. This Christmas there had been no breakouts of nefarious plots from the rogues of Gotham to worry about. Dick had been home Babs too, no police or Teen Titan business keeping him away. Clark and Diana had even visited, it had been so cool meeting Superman and Wonderwoman. They had spent the evening on the couch eating cookies despite the filling feast Alfred had provided. He will never forget Bruce snoring in his pyjamas, Dick snorting eggnog out of his nose, and Alfreds ever watching, caring eye.

He was nervous to spend Christmas with the Parkers; it had been only the two of them for so long. He wanted this Christmas to be special. Jason had dressed carefully, selecting his nicest pair of dark denim jeans, and a pale blue button up he didn’t even know he owned, a burgundy knitted sweater, with his usual leather jacket thrown over the top. He was laden with boxes; a selection of cooked goods he had worked on yesterday, and gifts for both May and Peter.

All his worries were unfounded in the end, Peter and May were his family. They ate the food that Jason had bought, May had cooked, but there was a distinct burnt look to it.  
“Lucky you bought food Jason!” Peter had declared eagerly.

“Yeah, lucky.” May drawled, rolling her eyes, knowing full well of Jason’s doubt of her cooking ability.

Afterwards they played the new video games Peter had received, and argued over which Christmas movie to watch. They eventually settled on How The Grinch Stole Christmas, as Jason he’d never seen it before. It stuck a cord with him; an outsider, ostracised by everyone and damn bitter about it, and finally being accepted. Jason would forever deny the tear he shed. Jason smiled to himself, happy of finding the family who had accepted him. But, however joyful the day was, a seed out guilt made its way into Jason’s mind; this family had accepted him, but they didn’t really know him, or what he had done.

The holiday season had passed, and the date on Jason’s gravestone slowly approached. Guilt weighed him down. He was a bad person. He had to confess and cut free those he cared about.

Over the duration of their friendship, Jason had shared small parts of his childhood, and the bad decisions, to May. She even knew that his wasn’t in fact from Colorado Springs like his birth certificate and other legal documents suggest, but was actually from Gotham.  
Peter too knew a small amount, shared Over the months of getting to know each other. But he needed to know more.

Jason paced across the rooftop, he’d decided to do it tonight after Spider-Man's patrol. A box of pasties sat forgotten nearby; Jason tried his best to fill Peter's ravenous appetite, courtesy of his heightened metabolism.

A quick swish and the thud of landing feet alerted Jason’s to Spider-Man’s arrival. Jason spun around to see him checking for any possible onlookers, and to check their seclusion before peeling his mask off, just as Jason had taught him.  
“Hey Jason,” he called, carefree, spotting the box of pastries, “Ohh, you bought food.”

“Hi Peter. How are you?” Jason asked nervously. Peter immediately heard the appreciation in his voice, head flicking around, eyes locked on him.

“I’ve been fine, nothing exciting on patrol.” Peter kept his voice light.

“Well… that’s good, I guess.” Jason struggled with how to breach the subject.

“Just tell me Jason, please. You’ve been acting weird the last few days. Even May has noticed.” Jason cleared his throat, eyes downcast.

“How about you come sit down, might be a while.” Jason gestured at a concrete slab that served as a bench, avoiding the worried look on Peters face, the concern that shone in his eyes.

“You know I grew up in Gotham, it was rough, and even with Bruce there was a lot of shit.” Peter gave a small nod of understanding, so Jason continued.

“After Bruce I got caught up in some shit, met some people. They weren’t good, ran by their own rules. I didn’t care, I was angry and dumb, they trained me and kept me alive so I went along with it. 2 years later I went back to Gotham.”  
Jason paused to look at Peter, he was listening carefully, and Jason could see the understanding in his eyes. He didn’t deserve it, didn’t deserve Peter.

“I shouldn’t have gone back, I was so angry, at Bruce, at Gotham, everyone. I thought I knew best, that I could do better. Fuck.” Jason felt his throat close over. He hated what he was. Peter only sat there, nodding encouragingly.

“I hurt people Peter. I killed people. I did horrible, terrible things that I can never undo. Do you understand that Peter? I’m a bad Person. You shouldn’t want anything to do with me!” Jason couldn’t help shouting the last park, voice breaking.

“How are you here then? How did you get here?” Peter questioned, voice collected, face free of emotion. Jason knew his confession had hurt him.  
“I almost died, but I got a second chance and I decided I didn’t like my life so I left, took some time, changed it up and came here.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Moving here? No, this life here is the one I never thought I’d get. Killing? Depends. Those people were bad people, but it shouldn’t have had to be me.”

“You’re not going to leave now are you?”

“What do you mean?” 

“I don’t want you to leave.” Peter's voice broke.

“You don’t hate me?”

“I don’t really understand why you did what you did, but you’re Jason, you’re family.”

It was with those words that Jason felt the tears finally spill over, he was sobbing. Peter had still accepted him. It was something he couldn’t have hoped for. Acceptance. Unconditional acceptance. A thin arm wound around Jason’s shoulders, and he leaned into the embrace, accepting the comfort provided. 

In that moment, Jason knew he would do any for Peter Parker. He didn’t know how to label his and Peters relationship. They were friends, they hung out, played video games. Perhaps he was an older brother; teasing, but always ready to support Peter. A mentor yes, he trained Peter in how to fight, how to be smart, how to win. Maybe an Uncle, having family dinners and Picking Peter up from school when May couldn’t. A father? That was a place Jason refused his mind to go. But he would do anything for Peter, without question, throw his soul back to the hell he crawled from, he would destroy the world to see Peter smile. He would damn himself and everyone else in existence if it meant Peter was safe, if it could prevent the teen from meeting the same fate that he himself had met. It was a feeling he was afraid of, one he wasn’t ready to confront so he pushed it down, yet knowing he could deny it, and it would never change the fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, I really didn’t expect to finish this chapter so so soon, it’ll probably take longer for the next one.
> 
> I hope you continue to enjoy this, thank you for reading  
> Any feedback is much appreciated
> 
> Up next: Tony Stark


	3. Enter Tony Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the events of civil war and homecoming

Jason had been gone for one week, not even that; Jason had been gone 5 days. He thought it would be fine, May had the week off, and Peters training was coming along nicely. So despite not having left New York City for almost 5 years, Jason had accepted the invitation his company had given him for a security conference in Boston.

When he returned that Friday, he was looking forward to a night of takeout food, and games on Mays couch with her and Peter. Instead, he was met with an excited May, a freshly delivered pizza, and a distinct lack of Peter.

“You’ll never believe it Jason, Tony Stark was here!! He came to personally tell Peter that he had gotten the September Foundation Grant, and he left yesterday to go on the Stark internship retreat. He was so excited, couldn’t wait to go, I’m so proud of him, he’s so smart.” Her pride was evident.  
“That’s amazing May, if anyone deserves this it’s Peter.” Jason responded. He tried to be happy for Peter, and feel the joy that May felt, but his gut twinged, and his suspicions rose. A feeling experience taught he not to ignore.  
“He almost didn’t go, he wanted to wait for you to get back and tell you in person.” She chucked.  
“I‘ll call him after dinner.”

During the conference Jason hadn’t had time to check his phone much… something he immensely regretted after seeing the 5 missed calls from Peter, and 3 voicemails. Dread growing, he began to play them back.

“Jason! You’ll never guess who showed up at the apartment today!! Ahhh, it was Mister Stark, Tony Stark, as in Iron Man! He wants me to go to Germany with him to take down the rogue avengers. Have you ever heard of anything that cool? We’re leaving tomorrow, I’m so excited. I wish you were here Jason, I’ve missed you this week. I hope you get back before I leave. Gotta go now and pack… BYE!”  
Peter spoke so fast that Jason doubted he would have been able to understand without significant practice, and with every word spoken, his worry doubled.  
He didn’t know where Peter was, or if he was safe, hell, he didn’t even know if he was alive.

He clicked open the next message.  
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you got home, I know we had plans… I’m at the hotel now… IN GERMANY! Happy is with me, he’s Mister Starks head of security, oh, and we took a private plane, it was sooo cooool! The hotel room is so nice too, I wish you and May could see it. OH! I almost forgot, I got a new suit! Mister Stark made it for me and it’s awesome! I’ll be very careful and I’ll be back as soon as I can, Bye.”  
His gut clenched, heart beating so loud.

He paused, bracing himself before opening the last message.  
“I STOLE CAPTAIN AMERICAS SHEILD! It was awesome, Mr Stark was like ‘underroos’ and I flipped in, pew pew pew, and I caught a punch from the winter soldier, his arm is awesome, and the falcon has these wings, I should make some wings, then I could just glide! I’m back at the hotel now, flying home tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you and May again. My phone’s about to die, Bye!”

He was alive, and Jason would see him soon. That had to be enough for now.

May had to go to work, so Jason was the one waiting for Peter's return. He paced along the sidewalk of the building, too riled up to wait upstairs inside. Darkness was closing in when the sleek black limousine pulled up. The door was flung open and Peter launched himself into Jason’s arms. It reassured him to see his kid safe.

Peter pulled back, clearing his throat, remembering who’s car he had just gotten out of.  
“Jason, this is Mister Stark, and Happy.” Peter beamed.  
“Pleasure” Jason drawled in response, Ignoring Peter's huff at his rudeness  
Tony Stark climbed out of the car, arms crossed.  
“Yeah, it is. And who are you? Is May around.”  
“No. She isn’t.” Jason replied, taking a step forward.  
“This is Jason” Peter stepped in front of him, with a pointed shove.  
“Oh, you Mays boyfriend?” Tony asked, eyebrow raised, questioning.  
“He’s a family friend” Peter interrupted.

The tension in the air crackled, Jason smirked, Peter glared, Happy interrupted.  
“Case, somebody take the case?” The air breathed freely again.  
Peter snatched it and shoved it into Jason’s arms.  
“Come on happy, lets go!” Stark called, returning to the car.  
“Ok boss”  
“Nice to meet you Stark” Jason said venomously  
“Bye mister stark” Peter called, waving as the limo drove off.

Later upstairs, Jason and Peter sat on the couch, eating the spaghetti bolognaise Jason had made earlier. Peter was talking about the events he had experienced over the last few days.  
The way Peter talked made Jason so scared. His kid was going to do great things, great and dangerous things.  
Jason knew he had to choose his next words carefully, what he chose to say could completely undermine Peter, break his trust and destroy their entire relationship.  
Luckily Jason had already experienced bad parenting 101, so he knew some things not to say.

“Peter, slow down, I don’t think you’ve breathed in 5 minutes”  
“Oh”  
“I’m so proud of you Peter, and so so glad that you came back safe.” He rested a hand on Peters shoulder. “But I was so worried too. I got back and you were gone.”  
Peter hung his head. “I didn’t want you to worry.”  
“I know. You’re incredibly strong, intelligent, with some amazing powers, but you’re 15, and still learning. Sometimes you have to know your limits, otherwise you get hurt, or worse. And neither May or I could bear that.”  
“I know, I wasn’t trying to get hurt, and Mister Stark was their the entire time.”  
“I understand Peter, you were just doing your best, trying to help. But I wish Stark hadn’t put you in that position, at least not without the proper training. Give it a few years and I bet you take out that entire team.” Jason smiled when he said the last part, Peter was going to be the best of them all.  
Peter smiled back up at Jason, they would be okay.

Jason spent the rest of the weekend with Peter and May. They went to the Park, out for dinner, to the cinema, and played video games on the couch. It was a good time.  
On Monday he had classes during the day, Peters Patrol, and work in the evening. On Tuesday the world learned that Tony Stark returned home, the rogue avengers missing. On Tuesday, Jason commenced his plan.

The news report had no details of Stark's whereabouts, but Jason didn’t need it, he had other means to track and hack. He was bat trained. Medevac reports showed that Stark had been critically injured during the Siberia encounters with Rogers and Barnes, and was currently laid up in the Memorial Hospital in Manhattan. It was laughably easily to break into.

Tony Stark looked like he had been hit by a truck, then crushed by a building. Considering who had been on the other side of the fight, the truck building combo might’ve been kinder.  
Every inch of skin showing was a mottled mix of blue, purple, red or fading yellow. His face so swollen that he was looking through thin slits, eyes bloodshot.  
“Wakey Wakey Stark.” Jason cooed. The beaten man's eyes twitched, seeking out the owner of the voice. “You look like shit. If this is what your friends did, I’d hate to see the result of your enemies.”  
“Who are you? What you want?” Stark managed to rasp. The split on his lip broke again, and blood began to trickle down his chin.   
“I have some concerns to express regarding our mutual friend.” Jason stepped forward from his shadowed position and into the light.  
“Peter.” Stark gasped.  
“Yeah, Peter. You see, I care about his well being, and your involvement in Peter's life has had a direct impact, and so far it hasn’t been positive.”  
“I don’t see how this concerns you”  
“Actually, it kinda does. I’m not here to argue, I’m just saying that sending a 14 year old to fight for you against the world's first super soldier, and ex air force veteran, a witch and the most renowned supper assassin of the last 50 years requires me to make it my business.”  
“He has the powers, and the suit”  
“Oh yeah? So did the other guys. What he needed was the training.”   
Jason narrowed his eyes.  
“I’m not here to stop him, I’m here to tell you that you better keep him safe. If you put him at risk I’ll break you, and it’ll make this beating seem like paradise.”  
“You threatening me?”  
“Yeah, I am. Adios Stark.”  
With that, Jason shrunk back into the shadows and was gone.

Steve Rogers, Captain fucking America was next on Jason’s shit list. He was harder to track down, still easy for a bat. A couple of faked papers and some cash bribes later, Jason found himself camped across from the warehouse where The Captain and his associates were hiding out at. Jason didn’t have much time, but he didn’t need much for his warning.

The information he gathered showed that the widow, the falcon and Captain America leave the warehouse once a day using an old sedan that had been parked around the corner. It was Jason’s target, and he had rigged it with enough explosives to turn it to ash.

That evening the three walked out to the car as expected. But before they reached it, the car exploded into a ball of heat and flames, the three ducking to take cover and plan for an oncoming attack. They slowly rose when the flames died down, and no attacker appeared. All that came was the fluttering of a single paper, unsinged from the flames. The Captain snatched it out of the air. Jason was quite proud of his little note. And he could imagine his expressions while reading it.

Dear Captain America and Associates,

You don’t know who I am, but I know all about you. In fact, we have someone in common; Spider-Man.  
However, I have some disagreements regarding your recent treatment of Spider-Man.   
While I certainly do not think highly of you, I would think you and your team would be above fighting a child, however strong they are.  
Lay another hand on Spider-Man and I mark you as my enemy, and how easy would it be to wait until you were in the care before blowing it up. Do not cross me. I will make the beating you gave Tony Stark child’s play.  
If I were you, I’ve have kept my friends closer, try talking instead of fighting like a bunch of middle school bitches. 

Adios Fuckers

He thought it was quite poetic. You didn’t grow up in Gotham without gaining an appreciation for the dramatics.

Jason didn’t hang around after that, he had a kid in Queens waiting for him.

In the months that follow, Peter begins to come into his own. His training with Jason has improved his knowledge and skills as a hero, and in turn, his confidence as spiderman, and as peter parker has grown. Jason is so proud of the progress Peter has made.

During the past week, Jason has tried to set more challenges for Peter during training, making him use his brain to assess situations, and solve problems, and fight tactically. They've also ramped up weapons training; despite Peter's preference of using either his hands or webs, Jason made sure he understood the importance of knowing how different weapons worked, and how to defend against them, and unarm them. It was during these training sessions that Jason began to notice how his own physical form had slipped, his muscles were weaker, he tired quicker and his reactions sloppy. In his spare time he worked to hone his own skills and abilities. He was not training to become a vigilante, he was simply providing Peter with the best tools to learn, and that required Jason to be his best as well.

Their friendship grew as well; Jason spent more time than ever at Mays apartment, and had even considered moving to be closer. They studied together, Jason wasn't able to help Peter with much, but together they could bounce off each other to create different ideas for both school projects, and personal ones, such as the backpack trackers Peter had thought of after his 3rd lost backpack. Jason tried to encourage Peter to spend as much time as he could being a kid and enjoying life, especially after Peter quit band and robotics club to make more time for spiderman. 

Another worry was Tony Stark. Peter had not heard anything from either the Super Hero, or Happy Hogan, despite the teenager leaving numerous voicemails. It broke his heart to see the look of utter disappointment every single time Peter checked his phone only to find nothing. Jason only hoped that his little chat with Stark had not scared the other man off.

Jason had just returned home from his shift at the restaurant and was starting the preparations for dinner when he heard his phone vibrating on the counter, he set down the knife and saw that it was Peter, and without a single hesitation he answered, putting the phone on speaker so he could continue chopping. Peter probably just wanted to tell him about patrol, his enthusiasm always made Jason smile.

“Peter.”  
“Hi Jason.” He could hear the wobble in Peter’s voice.  
“What’s up kid, how was your patrol?”  
“I’ve messed everything up Jason, it's all my fault.”  
“Hey, calm down, tell me what happened”  
“Well, Uh, there were these guys, robbing the bank, you know the one across from Delmars. They had these strange guns, they were really powerful, and I messed up then they blew up Delmars bodega.” Peter continued, voice shaky.  
“Are you alright? Did you get hurt? Was anyone else hurt?” Jason felt his heart rate increase.  
“Mr Delmar was in the building, and I was really worried, but I found him, and I think it was just the smoke. But now the building is destroyed, and he could have died Jason.”  
Jason swears under his breath, but let’s Peter continue.  
“Then i came home and crawled into my room, and Ned was there. May let him in and now he knows that I’m Spider-Man.” The last part was whispered.   
“He’s your best friend Peter, I’m sure he can keep your secret.”  
“Yeah, it’s just been a tough day.”  
“Would you like me to come over later? I got a new crash bandicoot game we could play.”  
Yeah, I would like that … ” Peter paused for a moment, and Jason could hear the crashing of pots in the background, and the familiar sound of May swearing.  
“Want me to bring dinner too?”  
“Yeah.”

Jason was worried, the first failure as a hero was often the hardest, and he didn't know how Peter would take it. However, when he received a text from peter, he was sure it would be fine.  
‘Ohhh myyyyy goshhh! Guess what Jason!!! Liz invited me to her party! I’m going to be cool now!’  
He chuckled to himself, Peter's enthusiasm was back, and he might have a chance with the girl he had a crush on. Shit, had Peter had the talk? Maybe May was waiting on Jason to give the talk, given that he was a male, and he and Peter got along? What if this Liz took advantage of Peter's sweetness and broke his heart? That Bitch.  
Jason caught himself, he was being crazy. No one would break Peter's heart. Or, if they did, Peter would break every one of their fingers.

Jason was enjoying a nice bubble bath and a hot cup of his favorite tea when he got the call from Peter. He needed to be picked up. With a change of clothes. Jason panicked. What had been done to his sweet innocent Peter? He jumped out of the bath, got dressed at breakneck speed, shot back the rest of the tea, temperature be damned, and raced to his car. He arrived at the address Peter had messaged him in record time. Unfortunately he saw no trace of peter. He got out of the car, slowly surveying the area. There, he saw it,hiding in the tree was what had to be Peter… in his suit. He sighed, turning back to his car to retrieve the spare clothes. There had better be a good explanation.

Some time later they both sat in Jason's car as he drove back home. He had tried to begin talking several times, but one look at Peters worried face, and dripping wet hair and forgot how to begin.  
“Just ask already, stop just looking at me like that?” Peter eventually sighed.  
“Sorry… why are you wet?”  
“The falcon dropped me into that river.”  
“The WHAT?... ok, you had better start from the beginning.”

“..So you found someone dealing the strange weapons, chased them down, got picked up by this falcon who can fly with tech wings, dropped you in the river, where you were rescued by a remotely controlled iron man suit from Stark, who chewed you out, wasn't even in the suit, and flew off mid conversation. And then you found part of the weapon?”  
“Uh, yeah.”  
“RIght.” Jason had so many thoughts going through his head.

Peter could have been seriously hurt, or killed during the fall. They needed to do more fall and water based training. They would have to look at these weapons and learn how to defend against and disarm them. Stark would also need to have a lesson on the correct way to treat one's protege in training.

“Did you know Mister Stark has a tracker in my suit?”  
“No, but it doesn't surprise me.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, i’ve got one in your suit… and your phone.”  
“What? Since when??”  
“Germany.”Jason Paused “I don't use it… it's just there in case of emergency.”  
Now Jason could hear it, he sounded like Bruce. Fuck.

With Peter safe at home with May, Jason decided he had the time to pay Stark a little visit. After a simple search, Jason learned that Stark had been overseas, but was returning to the Avengers compound, Stark really needed to protect his location better. The Avengers compound was a couple hours drive away, less if you factored in Jason's driving. The security measures, although not insignificant, were easy enough to bypass, and the hacked security tapes showed Tony Stark touching down on the private helicopter pad. Jason calculated the most likely route and positioned himself accordingly. 

He could hear the other man entering the building, the AI lighting his path welcomingly.   
“Glad to see your safe return Mister Stark. You have 5 new voicemails for Miss Potts, Mark 68 has returned and the repairs have been completed on the other suits, and I have identified an unknown breach in security. My sensors also detect an intruder in the next room. No security measures have been deployed, they seem to have been overridden.” The female robotic voice prattled. 

Jason swore under his breath, he thought he had been unnoticed. He could hear Stark moving to a more defensible position, and the firing up of a repulsor.  
“Friday, light the way.” He called. God he was overconfident.   
The lights flicked on, a blinding luminescent white. Considering his next moves carefully, Jason slowly stepped from his hiding spot, hands raised, the universal sign of surrender.   
“Is this how you treat all your guests, Stark?” He called. Sometimes he just loved being an asshole.  
“Normally my guests have an invitation.” The other man replied, voice tense, hands armed in red iron gloves, directed at Jason.  
“Pretty sure that's vampires.”  
“Who are you.”  
“You mean you don’t remember me? Last time we met we had a nice little chat about Peter?” Jason prompted. He kept his hands up, but walked over to a nearby bench, pulling a stool out with his foot to sit on.  
“Jason.” Stark's eyes flashed with recognition.  
“Ten points to you.”  
“Why are you here?” Stark hesitantly lowered his hands, the repulsors switching off.  
“Well, last time, I told you that you needed to keep him safe. And you aren't really passing. Loved that parachute, maybe teach him how to use it so he doesn't get killed. Perhaps actually reply to his calls, you can't give a teenager a suit and expect him to be a hero by himself.”  
“I remember you, you came to see me in hospital.”  
“Yeah, that was me. Dont fuck up Stark. Peter is a good kid, he doesn't need your bullshit.” Having hopefully gotten his point across, Jason lowered his hands, vaulted over the bench, and leaped out the open window that he had climbed in through. Thoroughly ignoring Starks shouts as he disappeared into the night.

Jason awoke with groggy satisfaction. The weekend had gone quickly after his visit to the Avengers compound, and he spent his time trying to balance work, Spiderman training and hanging out with Peter. He rushed to get ready for work, sending a text to Peter that he would have time to look at the weapon later in the week.  
Peter replied that he and Ned were looking into it, which Jason begrudgingly accepted. Peter could handle things on his own, and Ned was smart and quite techy.  
Jason shot back to call if they needed any help.   
Later, he got a text that they had a tracker, and that Peter was going on the Academic Decathlon trip to DC. Nothing to worry about at all. He was glad Peter was spending the time with Ned and the other kids from school.

Somehow, phone calls from Peter always ended in some sort of disaster.  
“Hey Peter, how's the trip going?”  
“Ohmygoshjason,soimessedupandnowimstuckinabunkeranditsabomn!”  
“Woah, slow down.”  
“So maybe I went to DC because that's where Ned and I tracked the weapons to, so i followed them, found them doing a heist, they have some super cool matter phase shifter, and the Vulture was there and i got trapped in a container when i lost consciousness and now i’m stuck inside the damage control deep storage vault. Oh, and the suit lady told me that the core from the weapon is actually a bomb and I left it with Ned!”  
“Ok, i need you to take 3 deep breaths. I’m almost home, i’m going to get my car and i’m coming to get you.”  
“Don’t worry about me! You need to find Ned, he’s not answering his phone and he has a bomb!”  
“Ok, i’ll call you again when i’m in my car.” Jason took off running, Peter needed him.

It was hours later, Jason was speeding down the highway, slowly he was approaching Peters location. He came upon a truck with Spiderman riding on the roof. He connected his phone to Peters suits AI.  
“I’m right next to you now Peter.”  
“Oh, thankyou, this truck is so slow, and the last car turned off.”  
“I'm slowing down, jump onto the roof.” From his position in the car, he couldn't see Peter jump, but the thud on his roof was indication enough.  
“Now what?”  
“I’m going to pull away from the truck, and we are going to open the door so you can get in the car. Okay?”  
“Okay. He began to maneuver the vehicle, finally releasing his breath when spiderman sat down in the seat next to him.

“But your buckle on.”  
“You realise literally seconds ago I was jumping onto the roof of this car?”  
“Dont care, put the buckle on.” When he was satisfied with the click the seatbelt made, he pressed his foot harder on the excelerator, allowing the car to speed up.  
“We’ll get to Ned soon. Keep trying to call him.”  
“Thankyou Jason… I should have told you sooner.”  
“That's in the past, i know now. And we’ll fix it together.”

Peter was unsuccessful in calling Ned, only being able to reach him as he was entering the washington monument. They saw the explosion; the core had blown. Peter was out of the car, racing towards it. Jason assessed the damage; it was focused on the top of the monument, most likely where Ned was.  
Jason was able to call through to the suits AI  
“Whats going on?” Peter's voice was full of desperation.   
“The chautari core has detonated, causing significant structural damage” Came the robotic voice of what he guessed was Karen.  
“I need to get up there!” Peter desperately called.  
“Use a web slingshot to launch yourself up.” He managed to call, before the call broke up. He saw Spider-Man follow his instructions, launching himself a significant distance up the side of the monument and breathed a sigh of relief. It was up to Peter now. 

Later, Jason drove Peter back to the hotel. He hugged him goodbye.  
“Will you be okay?”  
“I think so.”  
“I need to go back to queens. May will worry when this comes over the news.”  
“Yeah, she will.”  
“See you when you get there.”

Perhaps he had given Peter too much, perhaps he should be more strict. But his heart, and his own experiences taught him that boundaries often got tested. And he didn't want him caging Peter, even to protect him, to cause Peter to push Jason away. He just had to be there and hope that Peter would come to him for help when he needed it.

Jason was sitting at the library desk when he heard of the destruction on the Staten Island Ferry, and Iron Man's subsequent rescue. He couldn't help but think of Spider-Man's involvement.  
A quick glance at his phone revealed several texts from Peter, proving his gut feeling correct.  
‘Did you know the suit records everything? It also identified someone from the weapons deal’  
‘You need to teach me how to do interrogations.’  
‘Weapons trade on Staten island Ferry’  
‘DW, i’ll be careful’  
‘Tony said i did good work in DC, this is so cool’  
‘He fired me’

How could three words hold so much weight. How could three single words convey Peter's absolute devastation. Peter had looked up to Tony Stark all his life. Had idolised him with every part of his being. Jason knew that Peter would have done anything if Tony Stark had asked, he had done everything, fought Avengers on the other side of the world for Tony Stark and put all his hope into one very human and flawed man. Jason could feel his own heart breaking.

He cited a family emergency to Anette, and left early. May had been freaking out as well, Peter missing and not answering his phone. Jason needed to be with Peter, with his family.   
Peter was curled up in his bed when Jason arrived at the apartment. May trying not to be obvious with her hovering. He gave her a knowing look before going in to see Peter. He looked devastated, entirely broken. Jason wanted to hurt stark for causing it, wishing for anything he could do to fix it.  
“He took the suit, Jason. I’m nothing without the suit.”  
“Hey Peter, you know that's not true. You were spiderman long before he gave you a silly suit.” Comforted Jason, hoping his words were the right ones.  
“I can’t be him anymore. I’m sorry.”  
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, you’ll do amazing things, with whatever you decide to do.”  
“But, you…” Jason cut Peter off, he knew what he was trying to say.  
“You know I don't hang out with you just because you were Spider-Man. Peters just fine.” Peter gave him a small smile in return.  
“Get some sleep Peter, you’ve got school in the morning, and May has opened some wine.”  
“Night Jason.” The familiarity of the conversation calmed jason  
“Night Peter.” He hoped it calmed Peter too.

Jason waited a few days to go after Stark this time, giving himself time to clear his head. However, this only served to anger him more every time he saw Peter's small, hunched shoulders and sad eyes.  
Peter insisted that he didn’t want to be Spider-Man any more, and Jason didn’t force the issue, he was more than happy for Peter to be a normal safe kid if he chose, it was up to Peter, but he also wanted the option to be there if Spider-Man is what Peter chose.

The drive to the compound was silent. Jason was no longer accustomed to it as he once had been. Peter's continuous chatter had ensured it. He could listen to the radio, but the thought of the meaningless talk infuriated him, so silence it was, only the steady hum of the car engine keeping him company.

The security measures had been updated since his last visit, making it more difficult to hack into the camera’s and bypass the security alerts. Stark was in him workshop, and the other residents were either absent, or in their own rooms. Perfect for breaking in.

He came in through the side door, walking through the building until he came to the kitchen. After the workshop, the kitchen was Stark's most frequented area. And, he felt it gave him a less threatening appearance. He wasn’t here to threaten, just strongly encourage. From the data he collected, Stark would be due to appear in the kitchen for a coffee refill within the next hour. 

Jason sat on a stool at the bench, crossing his legs. 5 minutes later he got up, walking around and opening and closing the cupboards, billionaires always have the coolest kitchen appliances. 2 minutes after that, he set the kettle to boil, he had found some really fancy tea, a brand that Alfred saved for special occasions, he couldn’t help himself.

When he had that steaming mug of tea in his hands, he took in his surroundings again. Down the hall he heard the quiet sound of wheels on the floor boards.  
“Tony, how's the new suit coming along?” A voice called, and a man which Jason recognised as Colonel James Rhodes rolled around the corner in a wheelchair. His hair was trimmed short, and he was dressed in a grey air force tracksuit.   
“Who the hell are you?” He asked, body tensing, this was a highly trained man, a wheelchair was not going to negate that.  
“I’m Jason, I’m waiting for Tony.”  
“Oh, he didn’t mention he had a friend visiting.” Rhodes posture relaxed, but Jason could tell he was still on guard, ready to attack or defend in a moment's notice.  
“I wouldn’t exactly say we are friends, more like acquaintances, I haven’t really seen him much, actually, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me at all.”  
“Right.” Rhodes clearly wasn’t convinced.  
“I need to see him about my kid; Spider-Man.”  
“Oh, he has mentioned you, and he doesn’t like you.”  
Jason nodded in agreement. The two men tired not to stare at the other, silent.  
“Wanna sandwich?” 

Jason didn’t even see Stark enter the room, it took James calling out for him to notice. He really needed to improve his situational awareness, it had drastically deteriorated in the past years.  
“Hey, Tony! You should have invited this guy over sooner, he makes the best sandwiches.” James called cheerily, gaining pleasure that Tony would be annoyed by Jason’s presence.  
“What is he doing here?” The fury was evident in the Starks' voice.  
“Oh hey, Tony, so good to see you again, it’s been ages since we’ve spoken about our mutual friend.” Jason let the cheer flood his voice, this was going to be too fun.  
“Trator,” Tony muttered to James as he walked towards Jason. “Jason Darcy Todd, born July 18 in Birmingham Alabama, currently living in Queens, Apartment 5, floor 8…” Jason cut him off.  
“Oh, so you did some research.”  
“That’s not all I found.” Stark said, oozing confidence. He hadn’t even made it past Jason’s decoy address.  
“Good, hopefully you can tell me when I’m getting the marks back from my last essay, profs been ignoring my emails.” He snarled back, totally unconcerned.  
Tony faulted.   
“Wanna sandwich? Rich people always have the best food. The tension in the air eased as Jason made his way around the kitchen, puring Stark a mug of coffee, and making a tray of sandwiches. Then he sat down to eat. Stark glanced at him suspiciously as he sipped his coffee.  
“You really fucked up Tony, and i’m still deciding if I should hurt you or not.” Jason muttered after swallowing his last bite of the sandwich. The tension grew thick once more. Stark narrowed his eyes. Jason met his stare, unafraid.  
“You took his suit.”  
“He messed up, people got hurt, I took my suit back.” Stark replied, defensively.   
“He made a mistake, but he was just trying to do good and make you proud.”  
“People could have died!”  
“People always die, that's not Peter's fault.”  
“He was irresponsible.”  
“He’s 15.”  
“He should know better.”  
“How can he when you haven't taught him anything. Name a single time you’ve spoken to him, shown him how to use his suit, or even just asked him how he’s going?”  
Stark didn’t reply. They both know the answer.  
“I could give it back to him.” He eventually offered weakly.  
“He doesn't want to be Spider-Man anymore. And I won't have you putting any more pressure on him. He needs to make his own choices. But if he changes his mind, you need to step up and be his mentor, for real this time.”  
Tony nodded slowly. Resigned.   
Jason walked away, eyes downcast. He had done what he came here to do.  
“See you round James. Don’t let him down Tony.”

The next week was the most normal week in Jasons life since agreeing to train Spider-Man. He worked, went to his classes, had dinner with May and Peter, and didn’t worry once about his teenager being beaten or shot at. It was going nicely nice, until he received a very excited phone call from May squealing about how Peter has a date for homecoming, and begging him to help pick out his suit. 

Jason knew immediately what he needed to do, he raced to his car, sending a text that he was going to pick up May and Peter in 5 minutes to go shopping. Jason had learned the proper way to dress for societal functions from Alfred, and there was no way in hell he was letting that man down by allowing Peter to go to his first high school dance in an off the rack, department store suit. 

An hour later they arrived back at the apartment, arms full of bags. Soon Peter was dressed, outfitted in his newly fitted Versace two piece navy suit, brown Louboutin oxford shoes, and a new rolex watch. May did not know how much money Jaosn had spent, and he planned to keep it that way. In his hands he held the corsage he intended to give to Liz. He looked like he stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine, ready to break hearts. 

May and Jason dropped him off at Liz’s house, bidding him a good time, before driving back to the apartment where a bottle of wine, and Jason's homemade pizza awaited them.

Afterwards, they were sitting on the couch watching trashy reality tv. It was so nice to catch up with May like this. He loved Peter definitely, but sometimes one needed to gossip with their best friend alone.

The phone call came when May had gotten up to the bathroom. It was not a number he recognised.  
“Who is this?” He demanded?  
“It's Ned! Are you Mr Todd? Peter told me to call you, he’s gone after Liz’s dad; guy with the wings, he’s going to rob the avengers plane.”  
“What? Where is he?”  
“He was tracking his phone, it stopped at an old industrial park at brooklyn, i haven't been able to reach him since.”  
“Fuck. Send me the address.”  
Jason shot up, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on with frantic movements.  
“MAY!” he called. “There’s been an emergency at work, I’ve to go.”  
“Ok, call me later.” Her muffled reply came.

The warehouse was completely destroyed. Jason ran into the rubble, screaming Peter's name. Oh god, he could be dead. What if Jason was too slow? He knew what it was like to die all alone, and he couldn’t bear the thought of the same happening to Peter. He had failed his kid.  
A flash from the sky caught his eye, and he was a large winged machine take off into the sky, and a small red and blue figure trailing along behind. Oh god, Peter was alive!   
‘For now’ his mind couldn't help but supply.   
Jason raced back to his car, he had to find a way to help. Peter was so vulnerable. His old suit had next to no protections, no parachute, or even wings that could be used to glide and slow his descent. If he fell, Peter would be gone. 

Jason didn’t know which direction the vulture was heading, or the destination of the plane, but even he couldn’t miss the way the sky lit up in flames near Coney Island. That’s where Spider-man would be.

The Plane was a wreck, flaming pieces scattered along the sand. Then there in the shadows he saw Peter, webbing together the cargo next to the unconscious form of the Vulture. Jason walked over to him, gently resting a hand on his shoulder.  
“Let’s go home.”  
“That sounds like an amazing idea Peter” He replied, pulling him into a hug, mindful of any injuries. He was bruised and battered, but he was still alive and triumphant. 

They managed to play off Peters injuries as an accident from tripping down the school steps, which Jason picked him up from after work. May was concerned, but glad he had arrived home in more or less one piece. 

The following weeks saw Tony Stark returning the suit to Peter, and more patrols and training once Peter was fully recovered. Peter seemed happier than ever spending more time with Ned, and joining the academic decathlon again for real, for this Jason was relieved. 

Jason's job wasn’t over yet. Adrian Toomes, or the Volutre knew Peters identity, and that was a risk that Jason wouldn’t allow. Killing the guy would have been easy enough, but he knew Peter wouldn’t approve, fortunately for him, threats, when done correctly, were just as efficient. 

It was simple to find the new address of his daughter Liz, and his wife, and every other significant detail. Less simple was breaking into the prison that Toomes was being held, but cash in the hands of the right guards went a long way.

Jason sat in an interrogation room in the early hours of the morning, leaning back in his chair, legs resting on top of the table.. He was dressed in his tack pants, bodysuit and leather jacket. He also wore his iconic red helmet. The helmet demanded that he be listened to. He was also heavily armed, weapons stashed in any place the eye could see, and more that the eye couldn’t. He had a gun in his hands, idly polishing it, reading to use in seconds.  
Toomes was dragged into the room by two bribed guards, hands cuffed together, dressed in the classic white jumpsuit. He was shoved into the other seat, and the guards made themselves scarce.   
“Let's get straight to business Toomes.” Jason drawled in his modulated voice. “I heard a rumor that you know who spiderman is.”   
“If i knew who he was, he’d already be dead.” Toomes scoffed, but his stiff tone and posture gave him away.  
“Glad you gave the correct answer.” Jason removed his feet from the table. Leaning forward. “You see, It’s in your best interest that you keep giving that correct answer, anything else will be detrimental to your health.”  
“And?” Toomes squirmed in his seat.  
“I noticed you have a very nice family, your wife, a true beauty, and little Liz, i’m sure she’s loving the new house.” He paused again, letting his words sink in. Toomes froze. “It would be a shame if anything bad happened to them.”  
“Don’t you dare touch them you son of a bitch!” Toomes screamed in pure anger, throwing himself towards Jason.  
Jason met his lunge with his gun, the safety clicking on. Toomes sat back down.  
“You have nothing to worry about, your family will be fine, if you keep our mutual friends' names out of your mouth. If you utter even a single whisper, I will know.” Jason withdrew his gun. “Can you do that for me?”  
“Yes” came the resigned response.

The guards then returned, dragging Toomes away. It was time for Jason to disappear. If anyone asked, Jason was never there.

Perhaps it had gone too far. He had come to New York to get away from the Hood, and he had never expected to wear it again. The last 5 years he had lived safely, lived carefully and lived kindly, desperate to regain his soul. He didn’t want to go down that path again. Yet still, he knew he had made the right choice. He would do anything to keep Peter safe. Peter was his. He would tear his soul apart and drang himself back to hell if it meant Peter could live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading, any kudos or comments are appreciated.  
> Sorry it took so long to happen as well.   
> For Jason’s identity I chose the middle name Darcy from pride and prejudice Mr Darcy, and his Birthday from the death of Jane Austin... I thought it suited.  
> I’m not from America, so most of my information came from quick google searches, so apologies for any inaccuracies. And any spelling, grammatical or structure errors.  
> Also, no hate for Tony Stark  
> I have plans for a part 2 where there will be more Tony and the introduction of the bat fam :)


End file.
